


All the Bits and Pieces

by Peachy_Bumm



Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Smut, Injury Recovery, M/M, Permanent Injury, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 20:27:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20784611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peachy_Bumm/pseuds/Peachy_Bumm
Summary: Vigil's always been the quiet guy on base.. but when he's confronted with the feelings of saving one of his fellow defenders he's put in a position that he's not used to handling very well... it's mind over heart in this scenario and he is beyond confused.





	All the Bits and Pieces

**Author's Note:**

  * For [arorunaround](https://archiveofourown.org/users/arorunaround/gifts).

How is he stuck in this situation? Staring down at the still form of a fellow operator who had just been standing on his own two feet but no a mere few hours ago? Why did his chest feel tight? Guilt? This was guilt piling on top of him again wasn't it? The same feelings he felt when watching his brother drown in the river or when he remembered leaving his mother in that jungle for the armed forces to find her. He thought he buried these feelings a long time ago after the last incident with finding his father corpse after killing himself. He vowed to be done and rid of them along with anything that could cause him a distraction, there was no way he could afford it. Until... he came along and chanced it all. Mute an alias for the S.A.S youngest operator, one of the brightest here at Rainbow and someone that has by far caught ever single fiber of Vigil's being with his sarcastic comments, stoic behavior, and vast knowledge seeking.

Staring down at his limp body on one of the medical facilities beds, it makes his chest tighten again. This was his fault... he caused this pain on him. A distraction... he was so ready and so willing to lose his life because he believed when it was his time, it would be his time. He would fight until the end of the line. Blackbeard had taught him so much more than when he first arrived at Rainbow which he was grateful for. However; he's more than aware that there are some fights you can't win and some scenarios you just can't avoid. Like a terrorist running at you from behind in full force while carrying a bomb strapped to their chest. Its a devastating blow, one that should have completely shredded him and put him in pieces. Except... there was one change in destiny's plan. A weight crushing him into a spare room and covering him to shield him from the flames of the blast. The precautions of this were detrimental, Vigil had never been on to let anger cloud his judgement but after seeing the unconscious form of his fellow operator on the floor with scorched parts of his uniform and even burning through his mask to show he had been severely burned around one of his eyes along his face...

The mission ended with back up finding Vigil huddled over a pile of bodies, knife and gun in each hand. Eyes looking just a soulless as ever. But there was an anger to him, something he himself couldn't fully handle or cope with... When Dokkaebi had to approach him with her hands up and take him into her arms it was all the realization he required to know that it was over. Vigil had never been one to make actual attachments after he joined the 707 armed forces.. It was different with her. He kept her out of trouble and made sure she shaped up. She was his rock, his reinforcement when he needed her the most. She was his best friend and he couldn't ask for something better than her in his existence. This was one of those instances... where she would be there to comfort him. Trying to tell him it wasn't his fault, which he still believed it to be regardless. Would try to keep him company and tell him to go out once they got back to base but she knew he wouldn't, his social skills were... lacking in ever angle possible.

So here he sat at the door of the infirmary watching the raspy breathing of the S.A.S member, chest faltering every now and again when he struggled to breathe in and out. Doc had confirmed that Mute had been burned from around his eye and down his neck to a good portion of his ribs, third degree was what he had been told they were. The white mask had made a chemical bomb and not only did the flames spark but it appeared there was some sort of gas mixed into the chemical concoction. It would take Doc longer to study Mute, see how long it would take him to wake up to actually verify if the shock was too much for his body to handle. It would be only a matter of time before he really knew if he would have to relieved of duty or if he could even continue to breathe normally. He and a few of the other medical experts on base did all they could to treat and perform whatever little bit of surgery could be done on the man.. but now he was in father times hands but that just didn't settle well with Vigil. Even with the burns, Vigil could see all of his bone structure. A young man with a nice jawline, sharp cheek bones, his eyes not as sunken in as he would have thought for someone who doesn't get sleep all that often, his dirty blonde hair still looking so soft even after being put through the hellfire he had taken for the sake of his own well being. Vigil's also just realized... he's never been this close to Mute before to actually see any of these little details.

It wasn't until the loud sounds of the other S.A.S members approaching caused him to dip from the room entirely. He didn't like to admit it but being around Smoke made him overly nervous and claustrophobic. His energy was over the top and a little more heavier than what he would have liked. Sledge wasn't as bad, he could get loud but for the most part he was quiet. Kept to himself and held to his own until he got around his teammates. Thatcher's prodigy and more than likely the one to replace him as the head of the S.A.S once he retires... or dies which ever was to come first. He thanked whatever higher power he avoided the two of them.. he wasn't the only one coming to visit Mute at his bedside. He'd overheard the conversations of Smoke and how irate he was that the Mask had gotten to one of their boys, that he hadn't been protected properly. Just one more kick at Vigil's conscience, because he should have been more aware and able to protect himself from whatever had come at them.

To say that the days blurred and became real touch and go for the defender was... and understatement. He was constantly on edge, now that Mute was awake and aware of what was going on it made it all the more harder to visit. Doc, Sledge, and Smoke gave him the run down for his injuries and what happened. Due to Doc and Sledge being better people about it they chose to leave Vigil's name or presence out of the matter, he was thankful but at the same time he wasn't. Mute had a right to know why he suffered from such harsh injuries... he should know who was to blame. The more Mute recovered, the more Vigil found himself staying clear of his path. Like some sort of wolf watching the sheep in a farmer's flock. All this time of watching and waiting to see him be able to walk and move on his own, and that tight feeling hadn't left his chest not once. It stayed there and played with his brain, what emotions he had left reserved in his person, the crushing feeling of wanting to approach and speak his words but knowing they wouldn't come out as he wanted... Not to mention the other S.A.S had seen his glances, caught him staring or watching them. It took Smoke glaring him down before he got the memo and stuck to just being around Dokkaebi for now. That didn't stop her from encouraging him to go and speak with Mute. He needed to clear his brain and his heart of what happened... plus she also was beginning to insinuate that it was more than just guilt riding on his back like a little demon from under his bed. No this was a crush, to which he would simply roll his eyes and turn his head away from her direction, she always had the most ridiculous things to say... but what if the attacker was indeed right? What... was a crush?

There was more to this, more than he really could even comprehend when it came to it. His face seemed to lighten when he saw Mute laughing. Eyes coming to focus on his smile or his eyes when he sparked a conversation with other operators.. Vigil's learned that his fellow defender has dimples, cute ones that define his face which is usually pretty stark when he's busy burying himself in his work. Mute also seems to have the most reflective and unexpectedly perfect shade of brown in his eyes that makes Vigil's breath hitch when he catches him looking at him. It takes them sitting in the workshop mindlessly playing and fiddling with their gadgets for him to realize this. He's also unsure why the Brit has taken up one of the seats next to him since there are at least 30 other odd seats he could have chosen. His brain is racing trying to think of something to say and his heart literally feels like it could leap from his chest... the urge to vomit is sitting on the very edge in the back of his throat. It all seems to disperse when Mute finally chimes up, "I know what happened, Chul Kyung. James told me what happened when I was still in the infirmary... You've also been avoiding me more so than usual, you're too quiet as it is, I'd rather you not bloody tuck tail and run just because I got hurt."

All of the red flags in his brain where flaring and he could swear there were sirens screaming to add to it. He was cornered properly now and if he left running now it would make things all that much more worse. So instead he put his tools down and just stared down practically burning holes into the device at hand. Maybe Mute would see his uncomfortable behavior and gladly just drop the topic? Would he do that? Would he just leave it all up in the air and continue to let them be this awkward bundle of a mess in their friendship? "How much has he told you... besides that he continues to be furious with me?" Mute's expression seemed puzzled by that, a smirk followed by a laugh left Vigil clutching his gadget tighter. The thought of being laughed at was unbearable in itself. "James doesn't hate you, Chul Kyung. He's pissed that we weren't informed that the Masks could have been carrying bombs on their person like that." Well... that was a relief but he still felt guilty in a way. "And stop givin' me that sour face... I'm still alive and that's all that matters... If I choose to throw myself in front of you to take a bullet next time I'll do it." Vigil was a little caught off guard by the comment and when he went to retort with his own comment he felt a hand on his own. His face... felt like fire. Mute was smiling as warmly as he could which was a rare sight for most. "I'd lay my life on the line for my friends... and I wouldn't think twice about it." His head feels like it could implode from the words that were just uttered to him... but what makes the biggest shock to him is when he feels his fellow defenders lips on his own. He's unsure of what to do until it really becomes a reality that Mute indeed just kissed him and made the first move. A multitude of questions become a flurry in his thought process but all of it is stopped when the Brit finally pulls back to answer it for him. "We'll take things slow.. okay? I'll still give you your space, make you feel comfortable in whatever you need. But I want this to be something that might bring us together... not pull us apart.. hell it sounds like one of those cheesy movies the girls watch on Saturday nights... Are you okay with this?" It's an instant response because he can't really seem to hold himself back after all of that and finally getting the real reassurance he needed from the right person. "Yes... I-I do want this... Thank you, Mark." "Good, because you bloody owe me a date after taking a blow for ya." A date...? Oh he's never been on a date. "A date... sounds like.. a good place to start."

**Author's Note:**

> Stay tuned for chapter two! A big thank you if you read the first chapter! This fic is for AroAroYes on Twitter!


End file.
